The Gilded Prince
by Yojenbo
Summary: Across the room, at the end of the hallway, wherever he was Sakura's eyes were too. But love is a capricious thing.


**The Gilded Prince**

_Disclaimer_: I don't know the show that well, little bro just made me sit through a marathon yesterday and I wanted to cry. It's a shame what they did to Sakura's character. She was by far the most interesting out of the trio but who do they keep on focusing on…? They essentially demoted her to being a drooling simp over Sasuke as the show has progressed. PUH-LEEZ.

That aside, this story is set in the beginning episodes (second or third one, I think). Sort of. Anyway, it's my take on what Sakura SHOULD have done to avoid the pathetic-ness of her blushing over Sasuke for the rest of the series. This is a one shot and I am open to all intelligent criticism I've invited.

* * *

Sakura let out a sigh of relief upon exiting the classroom door. The first exam was over and, although she was confident of her scores, she couldn't help but wonder about how everyone else did. She looked over her classmates with a subtle smirk. 

There was Shikamaru—he obviously aced it since it was a written test. Ino exited behind him and Sakura secretly (or perhaps not so secretly) wished that she flunked. Naruto was off to the side, hands laced behind his head and whistling to himself. Sakura had to withhold her laughter.

Behind him was Sasuke, silent as ever, hands shoved in his pockets and glowering distaste written all over his face. He was stuck behind a crowd of giggling girls, whom he was obviously trying to ignore. Sakura considered dashing up to him and starting small-talk about how the exam went, but she had learned from before. Small talk and Sasuke is just a recipe for getting a girl's feelings hurt. Nonetheless she followed him out of the crowd, trailing far enough back to where he wouldn't be alerted to her presence.

Sasuke paused in the courtyard and leaned over the rock wall that overlooked the town square. The sunlight speckled his body and brought out the vibrant blue of his shirt in cobalt splotches. His eyes were listless; Sakura thought that maybe the exam had taken a lot out of him, too. The toe of Sakura's shoe hit a rock on the pathway, which skittered over beside Sasuke's foot. He looked over at her for a second and looked away.

Not deterred by his disinterest, Sakura stepped forward. "So, how'd you like that last question? It stumped me."

Sasuke didn't respond.

"I got lucky—everything I studied for was on the exam. What about you?"

Still no response. Sakura leaned her back against the wall and looked back into the wooded courtyard, her heart pounding due to her crush's close proximity. "We all did fine, I'm sure. Well, except for Naruto, maybe. I hope he and I don't end up on the same squad but, well…" Sakura said, cheeks tinged with pink, "I wouldn't mind if you and I were on the same squad."

"I would," Sasuke said.

"What!" Sakura exclaimed, genuinely affronted. "How can you say something like that?"

Sasuke closed his eyes and said, "Go away."

"You… you don't like me?"

"Just go away," he grumbled.

Sakura didn't want to admit to herself that her feelings had indeed been bruised as she walked back towards the school. Her shoulders hung in a dejected manner but she refused to let herself cry.

"Hey Sakura!" someone called from the side.

Naruto was standing by the tree, his unnervingly omnipresent smile plastered to his face. Sakura couldn't stand to look at him. She took the palm of her hand and shoved it against his face, sending him reeling backwards into the grass. He called out to her as she continued down the lane but she ignored every word.

But then the thought struck her that maybe he had overheard she and Sasuke's conversation. He wouldn't let her live it down if he had. She quashed the feeling by taking a deep breath and giving the door of her room a good slam once she got inside.

---

Sakura's wounded pride could easily be bought. The quickest remedy, she assumed, would be to treat herself to supper and an especially luscious dessert that evening. She looked up at the sky but the stars weren't visible due to the city lights; all for the better, she figured, for the nighttime sky always reminded her love-stricken heart of Sasuke anyway.

She sat by herself at a table in the corner, not really wanting to be noticed. The only person she recognized in the restaurant was that chubby kid from her class—she never could remember his name—chowing down on some spare ribs to her right.

With a sigh Sakura split open a new pair of chopsticks and started absentmindedly twirling one with her fingers, the other one hanging out of her mouth. She didn't even notice the newcomer that had stepped up beside her.

"Would you mind if I joined you?" a familiar voice asked.

Sakura looked up and the chopstick fell from her mouth. Sasuke.

She didn't pause to reason or think of a better way of handling the situation. In a flash her hand was on his face, hitting him with enough force to send him staggering backwards and fall to the floor. In a poof of smoke Sasuke's body was gone and replaced with Naruto.

Rubbing the back of his head, Naruto asked, "How did you know it was me?"

Sakura picked up a new package of chopsticks and split them apart. "I didn't."


End file.
